The next morning, Jiang Baimian sat beside the nuclear bomb, looking at Shang Jianyao, who had just gotten up, and asked with concern:

"How was it? Any luck?"

Shang Jianyao yawned:

"No, I went to Room '506' every two hours, but I didn't encounter any dreams.

"She didn't sleep at all!"

Before Jiang Baimian and the others could respond, he eagerly added:

"I'll continue during the day. I refuse to believe she won't sleep!"

Jiang Baimian said thoughtfully:

"She might be thinking of another way."

...

Tarnan, Dreamy Inn.

The landlady, Ai Nuo, looked wearily at the Old World entertainment data on her computer, her mind filled with thoughts of her comfortable and clean bed.

She took a sip of coffee from the northern "Linhai Alliance" and then a sip of bitter strong tea, muttering:

"I'll hold on for as long as I can..."

She would avoid it for as long as she could!

...

The "Old Task Force's" jeep drove out of the courtyard surrounded by several buildings, heading towards South Street according to plan.

This time, Ge Nawa was driving, and Shang Jianyao sat in the passenger seat, one hand hanging down limply, the other holding the "Angel of Life" necklace, half-closing his eyes, sensing the "New World" nodes that might exist around him.

In the back row, from left to right, were Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Jiang Baimian. None of them spoke, afraid that Shang Jianyao's attention would be diverted, and his sensing would be flawed.

In this way, the jeep seemed to wander aimlessly through South Street, East Street, and West Street, entering every alley that could be entered.

And where the vehicle couldn't pass, Shang Jianyao completed the "measurement" on foot.

When it was almost noon, he sat back in the passenger seat, moved his right hand holding the "Angel of Life" necklace, and said with disappointment:

"I didn't find any 'New World' nodes."

"Mm." Jiang Baimian nodded, her expression as usual. "Only North Street is left."

North Street was where the City Lord's mansion was located, and also where the nobles lived. Ordinary people simply couldn't enter.

But this didn't stump the "Old Task Force." Even though each of them carried a huge bounty, they never thought of asking the servants who went out to buy things for the City Lord's mansion for help. They still relied on imperceptible "Thought Guidance" to easily reach their destination. Then, they revealed their identities and met Xu Liyan.

Compared to previous years, Xu Liyan was noticeably fatter, but he no longer wore old-fashioned clothes or styled his hair in an old-fashioned way. His casual attire, paired with a refreshing short haircut, made him look several years younger. Or rather, his outward age finally matched his actual age.

Having secured his position, he no longer needed to rely on a mature appearance to enhance his authority.

Mechanical Monk Jing Nian sat not far from Xu Liyan, no longer wearing a hooded robe, revealing his tall body made up of a black metal skeleton and various mechanical parts.

He wore an old yellow monk's robe and a tattered red kasaya, the red light in his eye sockets intense.

Xu Liyan glanced at Ge Nawa in his black military uniform and secretly compared his steel body to that of Jing Nian.

He then withdrew his gaze, not in a hurry to ask about the purpose of Shang Jianyao and the others, and said with a smile:

"You guys did quite a big thing in First City. You even got a high bounty from the 'Hands of Order.'

"It makes me wonder if you played some role in that coup."

"The role of muddling the waters." The honest Shang Jianyao would never lie.

Xu Liyan smiled as if he had expected it:

"You really did get involved."

Jiang Baimian "helped" Shang Jianyao respond:

"That turmoil involved many forces, and many religious organizations participated. We suspect that the will of the gods was at play."

On the graylands, when it came to gods, it mostly referred to the Ruling Gods.

"The will of the gods." Xu Liyan frowned slightly.

Regarding the turmoil in "First City," he, as a member of this force and an outer vassal, had sent people to make a detailed understanding and knew the general process, so he was not surprised by the involvement of religious organizations.

But he didn't think there was any will of the gods.

Although his partner, the "Monk Order," devoutly believed in the two Ruling Gods, "Bodhi" and "Zhuang Sheng," and always preached the existence of the Land of Ultimate Bliss, he still didn't believe that there were any true gods.

Of course, in this kind of thing, his attitude has always been to err on the side of caution. Worshipping them wouldn't lose anything, and might even bring unexpected benefits.

Based on this, he didn't comment and changed the subject:

"Compared to what you did in that turmoil, I appreciate you guys killing the true 'Father' even more."

He hated the true "Father" who almost blew him up to the core.

"I'm also very satisfied." Shang Jianyao revealed a smug expression.

The honest him then added:

"But there's also the 'Anti-Intellect Church,' 'Shepherd' Buyong, and the eight elders including him, and the Pope who ranks above them."

Xu Liyan's face twitched.

He forced a smile:

"'Father' is already dead. The 'Anti-Intellect Church' won't always be staring at me. I don't have any deep hatred with them."

"Now you do." Shang Jianyao reminded him.

"Huh?" Xu Liyan was clearly at a loss.

Shang Jianyao said earnestly:

"We killed the true 'Father' and disrupted the 'Anti-Intellect Church's' plans, and you're my good friend and brother."

I'm not... Xu Liyan subconsciously looked at the mechanical monk Jing Nian not far away.

He finally rationally realized that compared to the "Anti-Intellect Church" far away, the "good brother" in front of him was a more practical threat.

"What are you talking about? The 'Anti-Intellect Church' doesn't know that we killed the true 'Father,' that we disrupted many of their plans." Jiang Baimian interjected in a timely manner, comforting Xu Liyan by scolding Shang Jianyao.

Xu Liyan quietly breathed a sigh of relief:

"You guys can kill the true 'Father' and have been fighting against the 'Anti-Intellect Church' until now without any major incidents, which means you're strong enough."

Shang Jianyao was about to admit it frankly and expose his strength, but Jiang Baimian glared him back.

Xu Liyan didn't continue this topic and instead asked:

"What's the matter with your visit this time?"

"Two things." Shang Jianyao wasn't polite at all. "One is that we're investigating whether there are any 'New World' nodes in Wild Grass City and want you to give us a warrant to make it easier for us to wander around North Street..."

Before Shang Jianyao could finish speaking, Xu Liyan asked in confusion:

"'New World' nodes?"

Various rumors about the "New World" circulated on the graylands. Most people had their own ideas and expectations about the "New World," and Xu Liyan was no exception.

But he had never heard of anything called a "New World" node.

Jiang Baimian answered before Shang Jianyao could:

"I can only say that the 'New World' does exist, but it's not necessarily a good place. The source of 'Heartless Disease' seems to be there, and there are large and small nodes on the graylands, which are not passable by normal humans and connected to the 'New World.' One of our jobs is to eliminate them."

That's not what you said your job was before... Xu Liyan found that this group of people was becoming more and more mysterious, and the things involved were becoming more and more high-end.

The red light in the mechanical monk Jing Nian's eyes flickered a few times, as if he wanted to refute but held back.

Within the "Monk Order," the "New World" was equated with the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

After taking a while to digest the "New World" information he had gained, Xu Liyan asked solemnly:

"How do you plan to investigate? Will eliminating the 'New World' nodes cause any accidents?"

"Theoretically, no." Jiang Baimian was experienced and quite sure about this. "As for the investigation, it's very simple. We use the corresponding equipment and the sensing ability of the Awakened. We can find it from a long distance."

"We won't break into other people's homes." Shang Jianyao patted his chest and made a guarantee.

Xu Liyan then nodded:

"Okay, I'll give you a warrant for free passage on North Street later."

He was naturally happy that someone could help him eliminate the potentially dangerous "New World" nodes that sounded quite dangerous.

Before the "Old Task Force" could respond, he asked:

"What's the second thing?"

Shang Jianyao looked at the mechanical monk Jing Nian sitting next to him and smiled:

"We want to discuss Buddhism with Zen Master Jing Nian."

"What do you want to discuss?" The mechanical monk Jing Nian emitted a synthesized voice.

He didn't refuse, firstly because he didn't foresee any danger, and secondly because he wanted to see what these people wanted to ask.

Pu Du Zen Master Shang Jianyao put his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer:

"Namo Amitabha, Zen Master, I would like to know when your order first had an Awakened."

"This includes when you weren't monks yet, when you hadn't formed an order." Jiang Baimian added, "I know that similar questions involve some of your order's secrets, but if it's not too important, please tell us, and we will exchange it for corresponding information that you're interested in."

Jing Nian was silent for a while and said:

"When the Old World was destroyed, there were already a few people who had awakened.

"In the following year, people continued to awaken, but the number was very small. When the 'Hall of Stars' appeared, the difficulty of awakening became lower."